Patrick Valtin - Defender of Human Rights

“The contributions that the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International has made to the local, national and international areas on behalf of mental health issues are invaluable and reflect an organization devoted to the higher ideals of mental health services…”

- The Hon. Raymond N. Haynes, California State Assembly

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a non-profit, public benefit organization dedicated to investigating and exposing psychiatric violations of human rights. It also ensures that criminal acts within the psychiatric industry are reported to the proper authorities and acted upon.

CCHR was founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and the internationally acclaimed author, Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York, Syracuse. At that time, the victims of psychiatry were a forgotten minority group, warehoused under terrifying conditions in institutions around the world. Because of this, CCHR penned a Mental Health Declaration of Human Rights that has served as its guide for mental health reform.
Acknowledged by the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Human Rights Commission as responsible for “many great reforms” that protect people from psychiatric abuse, CCHR has documented thousands of individual cases that demonstrate psychiatric drugs and often-brutal psychiatric practices create insanity and cause violence. A major cause of the drug problem worldwide is the psychiatrist, who for decades has used his influence as a medical doctor to push extremely dangerous and addictive mind-altering drugs on persons of all ages—some as young as one year old.
Since 1969, CCHR’s work has helped to save the lives of millions and prevented needless suffering for millions more. Many countries have now mandated informed consent for psychiatric treatment and the right to legal representation, advocacy, recourse and compensation for patients. In some countries, the use of psychosurgery and electroshock on children is banned. While CCHR does not provide medical or legal advice, it works closely with attorneys and medical doctors and supports medical, but not psychiatric, practices. CCHR’s members include prominent doctors, lawyers, artists, educators, civil and human rights representatives and professionals who see it as their duty to “expose and help abolish any and all physically damaging practices in the field of mental healing.” They work to accomplish these clearly stated aims with many like-minded individuals and groups, including politicians, teachers, health professionals, government and law enforcement officers and media.
Today, 133 chapters strong in 34 countries, CCHR has established itself as a powerful human rights advocacy group and each year presents its Human Rights Awards to individuals who display exemplary courage in the worldwide fight for the restoration of basic human rights in the mental health area.
CCHR members are active throughout the world organizing marches, public hearings, exhibits, and other actions to raise public awareness about the rampant criminality within psychiatry.

MUSEUM AND EXHIBITS

“Psychiatry: An Industry of Death”
CCHR International has created a state-of-the-art museum on the history of and truth about psychiatry.  Hundreds of authentic photos and artifacts expose psychiatric human rights abuses.  Fourteen documentaries are included, featuring interviews with dozens of medical doctors, attorneys, educators and experts, as well as rare archival footage of psychiatry’s brutal treatments. 

Touring Exhibit: “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death”
The 185-foot state-of-the art “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death” touring exhibits are being shown internationally in more than 30 countries, including the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Russia, and South Africa.

PUBLIC HEARINGS AND TESTIMONY

CCHR holds its own commission hearings and gives testimony at public hearings on psychiatric violations of human rights.

CCHR’S HUMAN RIGHTS MARCHES

Supported by international celebrities, CCHR organizes marches and demonstrations on important issues such as protecting children from fraudulent psychiatric labeling and enforced psychiatric drugging.

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Frequently asked questions
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